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If you’re a business,
visit our business COVID-19 web page.

If you’re an Affiliated Provider,
visit our provider COVID-19 web page.
If you’re a business,
visit our business COVID-19 web page.

If you’re an Affiliated Provider,
visit our provider COVID-19 web page.

We're with you New Zealand

It is business as usual for us, with our member services and claims teams working remotely to continue to support our members. Just a reminder however that we cannot accept credit card payments over the phone. You can contact us here, or you can manage your policy in My Southern Cross.

If you need to talk to a GP from home, CareHQ virtual consultations are available 7 days a week, 7am to 7pm. 

Please look after your health and wellbeing during this time, and also the wellbeing of those you care for. We understand many people will be juggling commitments to children, parents, work and neighbours. We’re with you during this lockdown, and our website contains lots of articles and videos that might be useful to you or someone you know.

Cancelled or rescheduled healthcare 

If you have surgery or another procedure scheduled to take place during Alert Level 4, please contact your provider or hospital directly to confirm or change the scheduled date. Only your provider can do this for you.

If you have a prior approval it will remain valid for 60 days, so if your healthcare service is rescheduled within that period, there’s no need to contact us or request a new approval. If your procedure is re-scheduled to take place outside the 60 days and it’s with an Affiliated Provider, they’ll request a new approval for you. 

You can also request a new prior approval in My Southern Cross or via the app.

If you need urgent approval for treatment in the next 5 days, please call us.

If your policy only covers consultations, scans or tests which occur within 6 months of a procedure, and your procedure is cancelled or postponed to a date outside that 6 month period due to COVID-19 (whether this is due to illness, hospital capacity or resource), we will still honour those claims. All other terms and conditions of your policy continue to apply.

COVID-19 vaccine & your cover - update 

Southern Cross follows the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and MedSafe on the management of COVID-19, and the utilisation of any vaccinations.  

We would like to reassure our Health Insurance policyholders that your policies will continue in the usual way and in no way be impacted if you receive a MedSafe approved COVID-19 vaccine.

In New Zealand, acute care is provided by the public health system so if treatment is needed urgently after receiving a vaccine, you should go directly to the Accident and Emergency unit at your nearest public hospital.

ACC provides treatment and support as required to people if they have an adverse reaction to any vaccine if their criteria for treatment injury is met. This is why vaccine-related treatment injury is a standard exclusion in our Health Insurance plans.

Therefore, as is current practice, if you develop symptoms from the COVID-19 vaccine or any other Medsafe approved vaccine and require treatment, you can lodge a claim with ACC.

If you have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the COVID-19 website.

With you during financial hardship

We have expanded our financial hardship options even further to support those who need it most, including being able to place your policy on hold for a minimum of 30 days or a maximum of 6 months, depending on your situation. The financial hardship FAQs below outline full details. Please let us know your situation so we can assess your request.

Cover for video or phone health consultations 

If your GP or specialist is providing consultations by video or over the phone, these will be covered under your policy as long as you have the relevant benefit/s and they are provided according to your policy terms and conditions.

Travel insurance enquiries

If you have a query about your Southern Cross travel insurance, please visit www.scti.co.nz for information. 

Social media

Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn for updates.

We’re with you New Zealand

It is business as usual for us, with our member services and claims teams working remotely to continue to support our members. Just a reminder however that we cannot accept credit card payments over the phone. You can contact us here, or you can manage your policy in My Southern Cross.

If you need to talk to a GP from home, CareHQ virtual consultations are available 7 days a week, 7am to 7pm. 

Please look after your health and wellbeing during this time, and also the wellbeing of those you care for. We understand many people will be juggling commitments to children, parents, work and neighbours. We’re with you during this lockdown, and our website contains lots of articles and videos that might be useful to you or someone you know.

Cancelled or rescheduled healthcare 

If you have surgery or another procedure scheduled to take place during Alert Level 4, please contact your provider or hospital directly to confirm or change the scheduled date. Only your provider can do this for you.

If you have a prior approval it will remain valid for 60 days, so if your healthcare service is rescheduled within that period, there’s no need to contact us or request a new approval. If your procedure is re-scheduled to take place outside the 60 days and it’s with an Affiliated Provider, they’ll request a new approval for you. 

You can also request a new prior approval in My Southern Cross or via the app.

If you need urgent approval for treatment in the next 5 days, please call us.

If your policy only covers consultations, scans or tests which occur within 6 months of a procedure, and your procedure is cancelled or postponed to a date outside that 6 month period due to COVID-19 (whether this is due to illness, hospital capacity or resource), we will still honour those claims. All other terms and conditions of your policy continue to apply.

COVID-19 vaccine & your cover - update 

Southern Cross follows the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and MedSafe on the management of COVID-19, and the utilisation of any vaccinations.  

We would like to reassure our Health Insurance policyholders that your policies will continue in the usual way and in no way be impacted if you receive a MedSafe approved COVID-19 vaccine.

In New Zealand, acute care is provided by the public health system so if treatment is needed urgently after receiving a vaccine, you should go directly to the Accident and Emergency unit at your nearest public hospital.

ACC provides treatment and support as required to people if they have an adverse reaction to any vaccine if their criteria for treatment injury is met. This is why vaccine-related treatment injury is a standard exclusion in our Health Insurance plans.

Therefore, as is current practice, if you develop symptoms from the COVID-19 vaccine or any other Medsafe approved vaccine and require treatment, you can lodge a claim with ACC.

If you have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the COVID-19 website.

With you during financial hardship

We have expanded our financial hardship options even further to support those who need it most, including being able to place your policy on hold for a minimum of 30 days or a maximum of 6 months, depending on your situation. The financial hardship FAQs below outline full details. Please let us know your situation so we can assess your request

Cover for video or phone health consultations 

If your GP or specialist is providing consultations by video or over the phone, these will be covered under your policy as long as you have the relevant benefit/s and they are provided according to your policy terms and conditions.

Travel insurance enquiries

If you have a query about your Southern Cross travel insurance, please visit www.scti.co.nz for information.

Social media

Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn for updates.

Cancelled or rescheduled healthcare

If you have surgery or another procedure scheduled to take place during Alert Level 4, please contact your provider or hospital directly to confirm or change the scheduled date. Only your provider can do this for you.

If you have a prior approval it will remain valid for 60 days, so if your healthcare service is rescheduled within that period, there’s no need to contact us or request a new approval. If your procedure is re-scheduled to take place outside the 60 days and it’s with an Affiliated Provider, they’ll request a new approval for you. 

You can also request a new prior approval in My Southern Cross or via the app.

If you need urgent approval for treatment in the next 5 days, please call us.

If your policy only covers consultations, scans or tests which occur within 6 months of a procedure, and your procedure is cancelled or postponed to a date outside that 6 month period due to COVID-19 (whether this is due to illness, hospital capacity or resource), we will still honour those claims. All other terms and conditions of your policy continue to apply.

With you during financial hardship

We have expanded our financial hardship options even further to support those who need it most, including being able to place your policy on hold for a minimum of 30 days or a maximum of 6 months, depending on your situation. The financial hardship FAQs below outline full details. Please let us know your situation so we can assess your request

Cover for video or phone health consultations

If your GP or specialist is providing consultations by video or over the phone, these will be covered under your policy as long as you have the relevant benefit/s and they are provided according to your policy terms and conditions.

If you’re a business,
visit our business COVID-19 web page.
If you’re an Affiliated Provider,
visit our provider COVID-19 web page.

COVID-19 vaccine & your cover - update 

Southern Cross follows the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and MedSafe on the management of COVID-19, and the utilisation of any vaccinations. 

We would like to reassure our Health Insurance policyholders that: 

  • your cover will continue in the usual way and in no way be impacted regardless of your vaccination status
  • your policies and premiums will in no way be impacted, regardless of your vaccination status
  • new members do not need to declare their vaccination status when applying for health insurance cover with us, nor do we underwrite for it.

Health Insurance policyholders can be confident that they will be able to access private health treatment regardless of their vaccination status

  • We are working hard to ensure all members have access to their policy benefits.
  • For members who are not vaccinated, there are some health providers requiring negative tests rather than vaccination. 
  • Even if proof of full vaccination is required at some facilities – and we understand that this is only a small number – there should be other options for members to receive treatment. 
  • We also provide cover for travel (except on Health Essentials plans) if a member is required to travel to receive treatment should there be no local options available.

In New Zealand, acute care is provided by the public health system so if treatment is needed urgently after receiving a vaccine, you should go directly to the Accident and Emergency unit at your nearest public hospital.

ACC provides treatment and support as required to people if they have an adverse reaction to any vaccine if their criteria for treatment injury is met. This is why vaccine-related treatment injury is a standard exclusion in our Health Insurance plans.

Therefore, as is current practice, if you develop symptoms from the COVID-19 vaccine or any other Medsafe approved vaccine and require treatment, you can lodge a claim with ACC.

If you have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the COVID-19 website.

 

 

Travel insurance enquiries

If you have a query about your Southern Cross travel insurance, please visit www.scti.co.nz for information. 

Social media

Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn for updates.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Answers to common questions about cover and treatment, keeping in touch with us, financial hardship options and general information below.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Answers to common questions about cover and treatment, keeping in touch with us, financial hardship options and general information below.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Answers to common questions about cover and treatment, keeping in touch with us, financial hardship options and general information below.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Answers to common questions about cover and treatment, keeping in touch with us, financial hardship options and general information below.

Cover and treatment

No not at all. Your policy will still be valid because Southern Cross Health Insurance follows the recommendations of the Ministry of Health on the management of COVID-19, and the roll out of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine in New Zealand has been approved by MedSafe.
ACC provides treatment and support as required to people if they have an adverse reaction to any vaccine. This is why a vaccine-related treatment injury is an exclusion in Southern Cross Health Insurance plans, and the COVID-19 vaccine is no different.
We follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and MedSafe on the management of COVID-19, and the utilisation of any vaccinations. The roll out of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine in New Zealand has been approved by MedSafe.
If you develop symptoms in the future that you believe are related to the COVID-19 vaccine, you can lodge a claim with ACC which will provide support and treatment as required. If you’re unsure about your symptoms, or if they get worse, please call Healthline.
Southern Cross health insurance policies are designed to complement the services provided by the public health system. There is therefore no cover for acute care under Southern Cross health insurance policies (acute care is provided in response to a sign, symptom, condition or disease that requires immediate treatment or monitoring).  

For a healthcare service to be eligible for cover under Southern Cross health insurance policies, it must also be performed in private practice. Due to the nature of COVID-19, it’s unlikely that anything other than GP consultations, prescriptions or ambulance allowances (depending on the plan held by the member) would be covered. However, Southern Cross health insurance policies don’t necessarily exclude cover for treatment of medical conditions which may develop as a result of having the virus. What cover is available will depend on the terms of the policy you hold and the treatment you require.
Acute care is an exclusion in our health insurance policies – i.e. a sign, symptom, condition or disease that requires immediate treatment or monitoring (emergency care in a public hospital). This means that if you need emergency treatment (acute care), this will be provided in the public system for free.

As yet, we don’t have a lot of information about specific ongoing medical issues that might arise from COVID-19. However, should you develop something such as a kidney problem that requires surgery as a result of having COVID-19, and it was not an emergency situation, then provided the surgery was undertaken in a private facility (you would need to be discharged from the public hospital) you may have cover for that kidney surgery under your health insurance policy. This would depend on the terms of your policy and be assessed under normal policy eligibility criteria.
Tests for COVID-19 are Government funded and are free, so they are not covered under Southern Cross health insurance policies.  

Although some policies include a benefit for laboratory tests, this benefit only covers laboratory tests performed for diagnostic purposes which are not funded by the Government.
Southern Cross health insurance policies don’t cover overseas medical evacuations. To find out whether you are covered under a travel insurance policy, please contact your travel insurer.
Please refer to the Ministry of Health website to find out if you are eligible for care under the New Zealand public health system and for the services that are covered. 
If you have a GP benefit in your plan, then submit your claim the usual way. Remember that GPs are asking that you phone them first if you have any concerns about COVID-19 symptoms, or you should contact Healthline. 
Yes, if you have a GP benefit in your plan and your GP offers phone or video consultations, you can claim for this in the usual way. If they offer Easy-Claim, this is the simplest way to claim.

Yes. Other than for UltraCare, all specialist consultations must be with an Affiliated Provider.

You can claim for specialist consultations undertaken over the phone or by video and specialists can process your claim as they usually would on your behalf.

If you are on UltraCare and consult a specialist who is not an Affiliated Provider, you will need them to send you a receipt and then submit your claim as you usually would. Remember that online claims can be processed much faster than postal claims when we are living under COVID-19 conditions.

You’ll need to discuss this with your healthcare professional, GP or the specialist you are seeing, and also act according to the current Alert Level advice. They will be able to answer any specific questions about risks or concerns you may have.
If you would like to change the cover you have, please contact us or speak to your Adviser.

Keeping in touch

  • For urgent prior approval – for treatment within five days
  • To change your premium payment date or frequency
  • To change your plan, let us know you’re leaving your employer or any other plan changes such as adding or removing members

Our Contact Centre team are available to help you. Visit the contact us page for details of our opening hours or to send us an enquiry.

Go to contact us on our website. There’s information and enquiry forms to help direct your query.

You can do many things to manage your policy in My Southern Cross. If you have an Adviser you can also contact them.

The quickest way to submit a claim is online through the My Southern Cross app or website, claims are usually paid within 5 working days. Our turnaround time for posted claims is 10-15 days once we’ve received the claim form.

Our team aims to respond to all other online enquiries within 3 working days.

Southern Cross Travel Insurance is run separately to Southern Cross Health Insurance. As we do not have access to Travel’s systems, we are unable to answer any queries regarding travel insurance. 

We recommend you first visit scti.co.nz for more information.

If you’re an older member, you live alone, or you need some help with managing your health insurance, please make sure you have a family member or friend noted as an ‘authorised person’ for your health insurance policy. An authorised person is able to contact Southern Cross on your behalf and discuss your policy with us.

To add, change or update an authorised person, please send us an enquiry. Please include their name, contact phone number (preferably a mobile phone) and an email address on the enquiry form. If you’ve added an authorised caller in the past, you can still send us an enquiry to check whether we have the correct details for the them.

Financial hardship options

If you have lost all of your taxable income and are no longer in paid work, you can apply to put your health insurance policy on hold for up to six months. If you have not lost all of your income but are suffering financial hardship, you can also apply to put their health insurance policy on hold for up to 3 months. 

While your policy is on hold you won’t be able to claim but you will retain cover for all currently covered pre-existing medical conditions and won’t have to pay premiums. If you want to keep your policy active but decrease your premium, we also have other options to help. Please let us know your situation so we can assess your request.
This means that you are no longer in paid work and are experiencing a total loss of taxable income.
If you’ve lost your income, you’ll need to provide a copy of the official notice from your employer (such as a letter or an email), or if this is not possible, other alternative documents suggested by us, to prove this. 

For other financial hardship situations, we’ll need some evidence to support your request – we can discuss this with you. 

Let us know your situation and we’ll be in touch about the type of evidence we require and how to provide it.
Providing proof is a normal part of applying for any type of hardship relief.
If you need to contact us urgently, you can still phone us on 0800 800 181 – Monday to Friday. The online form helps us get the information needed to assess your hardship request and means we can deal with it faster.
We aim to get back to you within two working days. If you’re able to provide all the information we need for proof of hardship, it will help us to process your request as fast as possible.
Yes, you can restart your policy at any time during the on hold period by restarting your payments. When you restart your policy, you can start claiming from the date payments begin. Please contact us if you want to reinstate your policy early.
Yes, the special six-month relief is for members who have lost their income and are no longer in paid work (i.e. loss of job or redundancy) due to the impact of COVID-19. 

If you haven’t lost your job but you’re in financial hardship we have a range of options, including putting your policy on hold for up to three months. The best thing to do is contact us so we can assess your request. If your policy is put on hold, we can work with you at the end of the three month period to help with your options.
Let us know your situation here - there are a range of options including adding an excess, downgrading your plan, or removing modules that will all help to reduce your premium.
It keeps it fair for everyone and helps us to moderate claims costs during a period of reduced premium income.
Yes, you can submit claims for eligible healthcare services provided, up to the date your policy goes on hold. The eligible healthcare service must have taken place before your on hold period starts, and it’s a good idea to submit any claims now through My Southern Cross.
If you decide to cancel your policy and re-join Southern Cross in the future, it’s important to know that you will start as a new member and will likely have to complete a full medical declaration. All previous history including any loyalty benefits will be lost and pre-existing conditions you are currently covered for may not be covered again. 

When your policy is on hold, you retain or continue to earn loyalty benefits (for example, cover for benefits or pre-existing conditions that is earnt by having your policy for a certain amount of time). You also retain all currently covered pre-existing medical conditions.
To be eligible to put your policy on hold we need to set up a direct debit so payments can restart automatically on the date your on hold period finishes. We’ll be in touch by email or through My Southern Cross before any payments are taken and to re-confirm when payments will begin again. You’ll be able to make any further changes at this point (for example, the account the payments will be made from).
We have doubled our standard hardship option from three months to six months for members who have lost their income and are no longer in paid work. We have also removed some of the rules, e.g. members no longer have to have held their policy for 12 months continuously before they can access hardship relief.
There are a range of options available to our business customers ‒ please contact your Account Manager or Adviser in the first instance.
Please let us know about your situation so we can look at the options for you.

General information

Please contact us to do this or speak to your Adviser.
It’s important that you let us know if you or family members have returned, within 30 days of coming back to New Zealand, to ensure your health insurance policy can be continued. Please contact us and we’ll get back to you as soon we can.